Experts say Finnish firms inadequately test Chinese imports

Finnish importers do not test products brought to the country from Asia sufficiently, experts told Yle. Inadequately tested products can endanger users, according to Aki Niskanen, sales manager at SGS Fimko, a company that conducts product testing.

Yle reported earlier that several well-known Finnish retailers sell products that appear identical to items available from Chinese online marketplaces such as Temu, Shein and Alibaba.

Niskanen said companies may not always know what their responsibilities are. Pipsa Korkolainen, a senior specialist in consumer products at the Finnish Safety and Chemicals Agency, or Tukes, agreed that European Union product legislation can be difficult to navigate.

Korkolainen said Finnish companies are generally law-abiding. If there have been shortcomings, she said, they have been caused more by a lack of knowledge than by indifference.

“In the end, ignorance is not an excuse,” Korkolainen said.

Importers have extensive responsibilities

Importers are responsible for ensuring that products brought into Finland are safe. They must verify that manufacturers have met their obligations, including requirements concerning product markings and information provided about the products, Korkolainen said.

One of Tukes’s duties is to identify products on the market that could pose a danger to consumers. Niskanen said the fact that unsafe products are found shows that products are not tested sufficiently.

SGS Fimko’s tests, which take one working day, are partial tests that examine only certain properties of a product. For example, an electrical device may be tested for water resistance, while the insulation of a phone charger must be checked to ensure that mains electricity cannot reach the user.

Niskanen said the CE marking is not a guarantee of quality. It is the manufacturer’s or importer’s own declaration that the product meets the applicable requirements. The manufacturer or importer is responsible for determining what has been done to demonstrate compliance with the requirements for the marking.

Testing adds to costs

Testing products is also a question of money, as it is not cheap. Niskanen said that testing only one product is not necessarily sufficient, and importers must consider how many products in each product line should be tested.

If an importer has doubts about a product’s safety, Korkolainen said the company should at least ask the manufacturer for test results.

Not every product must be tested by an external organisation, she said. However, some large product groups must undergo type examinations by a notified body before they can enter the market.